Insulated fishing creel

ABSTRACT

An insulated fishing creel is constructed of urethane foam insulating material including a hollow container and a lid hinged thereon to form a thoroughly insulated enclosure. The lid includes an opening formed therethrough that is normally closed by a spring hinged door. The torsion spring connected to the hinged door is utilized to continuously urge the door to a closed position sealing the creel interior. Also provided are: a hinge for the lid, a creel handle, and a carrying strap mounting means, all formed integrally from a flexible material. A lid fastening assembly is also included to selectively hold the lid in a closed position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to fishing creels and more specifically tocreels formed of insulated material for the purpose of preserving fish.

Fishing creels have been utilized probably since the sport of streamfishing originated. Since a stream fisherman usually moves about onfoot, he must have some form of container to hold the fish he catches.Most conventional creels however are not heat insulated and thereforeallow the fish to soften and deteriorate as time passes. To thecontrary, such creels are often formed of wicker and are open to theoutside air and temperature. It is therefore desirable to obtain someform of creel that would provide an insulated enclosure whereby fish maybe held within a cool atmosphere.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,364,615 discloses a fishing creel that is molded out oflightweight foam type plastic that is claimed to provide buoyancy to thecreel and, due to its insulating qualities, maintain fish held thereinin a fresh condition. The lid for this cooler includes an opening thatwill allow air to freely enter and leave the confines of the creel. Nodoor is provided to close the lid opening.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,983 discloses a combination fishing creel andportable cooler. A canvas covered box is included, having a removablelid. The lid further includes a recess covered by a closure member. Theclosure is held down by an elastic strap and may be separated from thelid without removing the lid from the container. In operation thefisherman must lift the closure member upwardly away from the lid andhold it with one hand while inserting the fish through the opening withhis other hand. Often, however, one of the fisherman's hands is alreadyoccupied holding a fishing rod.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an insulated fishingcreel that will maintain freshness of caught fish over relatively longperiods of time.

It is another important object to provide such a creel that permits easyaccess to the creel interior without exposing the interior to theoutside air for any extended period of time and requires use of only onehand for operation.

Another object is to provide such a creel that may be carried by hand,on a user's belt, or on a shoulder strap.

These and still further objects and advantages will become apparent uponreading the following disclosure, which, taken with the accompanyingdrawings, discloses a preferred form of the present invention. It is tobe noted however that this description and the attached drawings aregiven only by way of example to illustrate a preferred form of myinvention and that other forms may be devised by those skilled in theart to which the invention pertains. Therefore, only the claims attachedat the end of this specification are given to define and placerestrictions on the scope of my invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A preferred form of the present invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a pictorial view of the present fishing creel;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the backside of the present creel;

FIG. 3 is a section view taken along line 3--3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken substantially along line4--4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section view showing an enlarged form of atypical fastening member utilized with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section view taken along line 6--6 in FIG. 1;and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line 7--7 in FIG.2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A fishing creel comprising a preferred form of the present invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings and designated therein by thereference character 10. Basically, the creel 10 includes a hollow bodyor container 11 covered by a hinged lid 12. The lid 12 is movablymounted to the container body 11 by a hinge and handle means 13.

More specifically, the container 11 includes a horizontal bottom wall 19that is joined on four sides by upright side walls 20. The bottom wall19 and side walls 20 define three sides of an enclosure 22 that isutilized to receive freshly caught fish. The walls 19 and 20 are formedof a urethane foam insulating material that provides excellent heatinsulation properties.

Walls 19 and 20 extend upwardly from the integral bottom wall 19 to atop edge 21. Edge 21 is flat and formed along a single horizontal plane.This edge 21 releasably engages lid 12 to complete the enclosure 22.

Lid 12 is also formed of a urethane foam insulating material identicalto that utilized to construct the walls 19 and 20. Lid 12 furtherincludes an outwardly projecting bead 24 that extends about the insideperiphery of edge 21. This bead 24 may be seen in particular detail inFIGS. 3 and 6. Bead 24 is molded integrally with the remainder of lid 12and is designed to fit in direct contact with the walls 20 in order toseal the enclosure 22 to prevent free exchange of air from withinenclosure 22 with outside air.

Lid 12 includes an opening 27 that would normally openly communicatewith the enclosure 22. Opening 27 however is closed by a door 28. Door28 is hinged and mounted to the inside surface of lid 12. The door ishinged so it will swing inwardly and includes a torsion spring 29 (FIG.4) that continuously urges door 28 to a closed condition completelyoverlapping opening 27. The door 28 will remain in a closed conditionuntil forced open by the user's hand. This may be accomplished by thesame hand that presently also holds a fish. The user may simply pressthe fish against the door to force it open. After a fish has beenreceived in the enclosure 22, the door 28 will automatically close toseal the creel interior area.

The hinge and handle means 13 is shown in substantial detail in FIG. 2.It may be noted in FIG. 2 that the hinge and handle means 13 iscomprised of a spaced pair of hinged straps 30, and integral hinge baseplate 31, (FIG. 2), a handle 32, and strap mounting means 33. Thisentire structure is formed of a single piece of molded polyurethaneplastic. The plastic is sufficiently flexible to act as a hinge supportfor lid 12 while also providing means by which the creel may be handheld or otherwise suspended from the fisherman's body.

Strap mounting means 33 is shown in detail by FIG. 7 of the drawing.Means 33 is simply comprised of a pair of eyelets 34 that are integrallyformed with the remainder of the hinge and handle means 13. The eyelets34 loosely receive a shoulder mounting strap (not shown) or, may beattached to a belt in order that the creel be supported on thefisherman's body rather than being hand held.

The hinge and handle means 13 is connected to the relatively thick walls20 and lid 12 by a plurality of pins 36 and threadless nuts 37. FIG. 5illustrates a typical arrangement for one such pin 36 and nut 37. Thepin 36 is formed integrally with its attached structure and includessufficient length to protrude through the entire thickness of anappropriate wall 19, 20 or lid 12. The portion of a pin 36 projectingthrough the material receives a washer 38 and threadless nut 37. Nuts37, rather than utilizing a threaded engagement with pins 36, simplygrip the pin and oppose movement in an outward disengaging direction.Such nuts 37 are commonly utilized with plastic fastening assemblies.

A releasable fastening means 40 is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 1 and6. Means 40 includes a flexible strap 41 that is mounted by pins 36 andnuts 37 to the lid 12. Strap 41 extends outwardly from lid 12 and issufficiently flexible to be bent downwardly for engagement with a malesnap member 43. Strap 41 is provided with female snap members in theform of apertures 42. Thus, the lid may be selectively closed by simplyengaging the strap 41 by snapping together the male and appropriatefemale snap members 41 and 42. The male snap member 43 is fixed to aforwardly facing side wall 20 of the body 11 by a decorative base 44shown in the form of a fish.

From the above description of the components of my invention, a morethorough understanding of its operation now becomes apparent. Asdiscussed above, the creel may either be mounted to the fisherman's bodyby means of a shoulder strap or belt, or the creel 10 may be handcarried through provision of handle 32.

In any case, when it is desired to place a fish within the enclosure 22,the fisherman simply presses open door 28 and inserts the fishtherethrough. By utilizing door 28 for this purpose, the fishermanprevents a maximum exchange of air between the enclosure 21 and theoutside atmosphere. Also, once the fish has been received withinenclosure 22, the door 28 will automatically snap shut. Only one hand isrequired for this operation since the fish may be pressed against thedoor to affect its opening rather than holding the door with one handwhile inserting the fish with the other.

When it is desired to empty the creel or to insert an extra large fish,the releasable fastening means is operated to unsnap the strap 41 frommale member 43. The lid may then be pivoted to an open condition,completely exposing the enclosure 22. The enlarged opening alsofacilitates cleaning of the creel.

It is preferable that the fisherman place a source of refrigerant suchas ice cubes or an enclosed cooling pack, to assure that fish heldwithin enclosure 22 are maintained at a low temperature. It is commonknowledge that fresh caught fish will stay in a fresh condition forextended periods of time if they are kept cool.

It is understood that various changes and modifications may have by nowbecome apparent that do not depart from the scope of my invention.Therefore, it is again noted that only the following claims are to betaken as definitions and restrictions upon the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:
 1. An insulated fishing creel, comprising:an upwardlyopen container formed of heat insulating material and including uprightside walls defining an open container top and joined together about ahorizontal bottom wall; a container lid also formed of heat insulatingmaterial; integral flexible hinge and handle means for hingedlyconnecting the lid to the container to cover the container top and toprovide a grip for holding the creel; said integral flexible hinge andhandle means being attached to the exterior of one of the side walls andextending upward along the side wall and over the container lid andattaching to the container lid; an inwardly facing bead extending aboutan inner surface of the lid for releasable mating engagement with theside walls at the container top to selectively seal the containerinterior; an opening formed through the lid; an inwardly swinging hingeddoor mounted to an inside surface of the lid and overlapping theopening; and biasing means for continuously urging the door to a closedcondition.
 2. The fishing creel as set out by claim 1 further comprisingstrap mounting means formed integrally with the hinge and handle meansfor receiving a shoulder strap.
 3. The fishing creel as set out by claim1 further comprising releasable fastening means for selectively holdingthe lid across the open top container end.
 4. The fishing creel as setout by claim 3 wherein the fastening means is comprised of a male snapmember mounted to the creel side wall and a complementary female snapmember mounted to a flexible strap on the lid.
 5. The fishing creel asset out by claim 4 further comprising strap mounting means formedintegrally with the hinge and handle means for receiving a shoulderstrap.
 6. The fishing creel as set out in claim 1 wherein the integralhinge and handle means are attached to the container by a pin andthreadless nut arrangement wherein the pin is integral with the hingeand handle means and extends through the container side wall to receivethe threadless nut at a free end thereof within the confines of thecontainer.
 7. The fishing creel as defined by claim 1 wherein the heatinsulation material is foamed urethane plastic.